Veal cutlets are thin, boneless pieces of meat gotten from the leg of bull calves. Veal cutlets can be prepared with various recipes. If you have nothing against eating meat, you’ve probably had a nice plate of well garnished veal cutlets; anyone that hasn’t tried veal cutlets before should definitely try them.
You can purchase some fresh veal cutlets from the butcher and cook them yourself at home – the process isn’t difficult. With the right amount of this meat, you can serve multiple guests at a party or any other event.
If you found a good deal on veal cutlets, there’s a high probability that you’d want to buy a large amount of it to store and use gradually over time. However, veal cutlets can’t be left sitting out at room temperature for too long. If left exposed to room temperature beyond 2 hours, the veal cutlets will experience rapid bacteria growth and go bad.
To keep your veal cutlets in good condition, you’ll need a reliable preservation method.
Maybe you’re already wondering: can you freeze veal cutlets? Yes, you can freeze veal cutlets. Veal cutlets can keep safely in the freezer for up to 4 months. Simply take frozen veal cutlets out of the freezer whenever you need them and thaw in the refrigerator. Frozen portions of cooked veal cutlets can be reheated for consumption in an oven.
Veal cutlets can be alternatively stored in the fridge for a few days – usually between 3 to 5 days. The best refrigeration results are gotten when veal cutlets are left inside their unopened original packaging. Anyone who needs long-term storage will have to freeze the veal cutlets.
Effective and easy steps for freezing veal cutlets have been provided in this article – keep reading to know more.
Freezing Veal Cutlets
One of the most important things to consider when freezing any food is its packaging. With that in mind, you’ll have to ensure that your veal cutlet is properly packed for long-term storage in the freezer. Failure to correctly package veal cutlets for freezing will result in freezer burn, loss of taste, and altered texture.
Although I previously stated that freezing preserves veal cutlets for up to 4 months, if kept frozen at a constant temperature of 0⁰F, veal cutlets will last indefinitely inside the freezer. Veal cutlets can also be pre-frozen before they are finally packaged and stored inside the freezer. Pre-freezing improves the quality of freezing and makes thawing easier.
How to Freeze Veal Cutlets
Just like many other things in life, having the proper knowledge of freezing your veal cutlets makes things much easier for you. The best steps for freezing veal cutlets include:
Step 1: Let Cooked Veal Cutlets Cool Down
Before you place veal cutlets in the freezer, you need to make sure that they aren’t hot. If you’ve just made a fresh batch of veal cutlets, leave them to sit at room temperature till they’re totally cooled. However, you must keep an eye on the time so that the veal cutlets don’t exceed the 2-hour safety mark.
Regardless of what food you’re freezing, they should never be frozen while they’re still hot. Hot food will cause the freezer’s temperature to increase and lead to the formation of moisture that turns into ice crystals. Those ice crystals formed are usually responsible for freezer burns.
Step 2: Pre-Freeze the Veal Cutlets
After cooling the veal cutlets grab a cooking sheet and line its base with wax paper. Without the lining, veal cutlets will most likely stick to the bottom of the cookie sheet. After the cooking sheet has been prepared, make sure that the individual pieces of veal cutlets aren’t touching or stacked up on each other.
Leave the veal cutlets inside the freezer for about half an hour until they’ve solidly frozen. Once they’re frozen well enough, take the cookie sheet with veal cutlets out of the freezer for packaging.
Step 3: Transfer into Freezer-Safe Bag
Before transferring the pre-frozen veal cutlets into a freezer-safe bag, wrap them in plastic wrap. You can wrap the cutlets in a single layer or multiple layer of plastic wrap. In addition to this, you can also cover the cutlets in a layer of aluminum foil. Both the plastic and aluminum wrapping will shield the cutlets effectively from cold freezer air.
After wrapping, transfer the veal cutlets into the freezer-safe bag. Try to suck as much air as possible out of the freezer bag before sealing it. Once the freezer-safe bag has been sealed, use a marker to write the present date on it so that you can easily know how long the veal cutlets have been frozen for.
Place the packed veal cutlets in a safe freezer compartment till the next time you need them.
How to Thaw and Reheat Frozen Veal Cutlets
When it comes to thawing veal cutlets, there are a few effective methods that I’d like to suggest. If done correctly, you’ll get the desired results after months of freezing the cutlets. The best methods for thawing veal cutlets are:
- Thawing in the Refrigerator – the most effective and safest way to thaw frozen veal cutlets is in the freezer. Take the portion you wish to thaw out of the freezer and let it sit in the fridge for several hours. If you don’t want to suffer through the many hours of thawing in the fridge, you can just do it overnight. That way you’ll be waking up to fully thawed veal the next morning.
- Thawing in Cold Water – by submerging the sealed bag of veal cutlets in cold water, you’ll be saving more time than when thawed in the fridge. Fill up a bowl with cold water and submerge the tightly sealed container in the water for 30 minutes. You need to make sure that the container won’t leak when inside water. Change the water every 30 minutes till the veal is completely thawed.
The microwave is also an available option for thawing frozen veal cutlets. However, because it heats food rapidly, you must be careful not to overheat the veal cutlets.